But this virtualization of consumer commerce is, of course, an illusion: Everything you might order takes up physical space somewhere in the world, and stores need to find somewhere to put that stuff until you click.

Just how much space will they need as e-commerce demand surges in the coming years? A lot.

Retailers online and offline will need a combined 25 million square meters in additional space over the next five years to store and handle the stuff they sell, according to a report from real estate research firm Jones Lang LaSalle. That’s nearly 6,200 acres, or more than seven Central Parks. And that’s just in Europe.